When I was little this would be the obvious way to make a ship bigger. Somehow, as an adult, it seems ludicrous.
Via CNN:
Why build a bigger cruise ship when you can just cut one in half and add an extra 15 meters to the middle?
That seems to be the thinking at cruise company Silversea, which has begun an eye-popping project to stretch its luxury cruise ship Silver Spirit.The elaborate engineering feat, underway at the Fincantieri Shipyard in Palermo, Italy, requires over 500 skilled workers and will take up approximately 450,000 man hours.
A prebuilt 15-meter extension (almost 50 feet) has already been inserted with “military precision” to stretch Silver Spirit from 195.8 to 210.7 meters.
The 36,009-ton ship is now being carefully reconnected to make it ready for sea travel.
Described as a “rarely performed feat of maritime architecture,” the operation is the first of its kind involving a luxury cruise ship, according to Silversea.
